Myanmar releases prisoners for New Year, though likely not dissidents

FILE PHOTO: Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi attends Invest Myanmar in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, January 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang

(Reuters) -Myanmar's junta released 23,184 prisoners from jails across the country on Saturday under a New Year amnesty, a Prisons Department spokesman said, though few if any democracy activists arrested since a Feb. 1 coup were thought to be among them.

Saturday is the first day of the traditional New Year in Myanmar and the last day of a five-day holiday that is usually celebrated with visits to Buddhist temples and rowdy water throwing and partying in the streets.